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People

Staff

Administration & Finance

Matthew VanBesien
Matthew VanBesien
President
Carmen Rodriguez
Carmen Rodriguez
Vice President, Finance and Administration
Jessica Adamczyk
Senior Executive Assistant to the President, and Manager, Board and U-M Relations.
Salina Naranjo
Senior Accountant
Amy Valade
Amy Valade
Accounting Clerk
John Peckham
Director of Administration & Information Systems
Scott Baker
Business Systems Analyst

Patron Services Office

Anné Renforth
Anné Renforth
Director of Patron Services
Nina Renella
Front-of-House Assistant Manager
Bridget Kojima
Bridget Kojima
Patron Services Assistant Manager
Rochelle Clark
Rochelle Clark
Patron Services Associate
Corrinne Hamilton
Corrinne Hamilton
Group Sales and Promotions Associate
Nathan Rodriquez
Nathan Rodriquez
Patron Services Assistant
Kimberly Masters
Patron Services Assistant

Development

Ryan Davis
Vice President and Chief Development Officer
Susan Bozell Craig
Director of Development
Margaret “Marnie” Reid
Associate Director of Development, Major Gifts and Planned Giving
Rachelle Michelon
Associate Director of Development, Annual Giving
Lisa Michiko Murray
Associate Director of Development, Foundation & Government Relations
Will Smith
Director of Major Gifts & Special Projects

Learning & Engagement

Cayenne Harris
Cayenne Harris
Vice President, Learning & Engagement
Terri Park
Associate Director of Learning & Engagement
Justine Sedky
Justine Sedky
Community and Audience Programs Manager
Maddy Wildman
University Programs Manager

Marketing & Communications

Sara Billmann
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Lilian Varner
Marketing & Media Relations Manager
Miranda Tolsma
Miranda Tolsma
Digital Marketing Coordinator
Eric Woodhams
Eric Woodhams
Director of Digital Media

Production / Programming

Mark Jacobson
Vice President, Programming and Production
Alex Gay
Production Director
Mary Roeder
Associate Director of Programming
Anne Grove
Anne Grove
Artist Services Manager
Kaylin Stinson
Kaylin Stinson
Assistant Manager, Programming Artist Liaison

Choral Union

Scott Hanoian
Scott Hanoian
UMS Choral Union Music Director and Conductor
Kathy Operhall
Kathleen Operhall
Chorus Manager

For questions about your ticket order, or general inquiries: ums-information@umich.edu
For information about group discounts: umsgroupsales@umich.edu

For questions about youth performances and other K-12 programs: umsyouth@umich.edu

For questions about ushering at UMS performances: fohums@umich.edu

For questions about making a gift to UMS: umsgiving@umich.edu

To request a UMS ticket donation for an upcoming community auction or event, please fill out our online request form: https://ums.requestitem.com/

Board of Directors

Christina Kim, Co-Chair
Brian Willen, Co-Chair
Rob VanRenterghem, Vice Chair
Karen Chapell, Secretary
Timothy G. Marshall, Treasurer

Karen Bantel
Kiana Barfield
Rachel Bendit
Marco Bruzzano
Christopher Conlin
Timothy Damschroder
Keith Dickey
Linda Gregerson
Neil C. Hawkins
Ibrahim Jarjoura
Barbara Kaye
David Leichtman
Timothy G. Lynch
Preeti N. Malani
Chrislan Fuller Manuel
Michael C. Martin
Elizabeth Birr Moje
Rishi Narayan
Mariam C. Noland
Eli Saulson
Peter Schweitzer
Gail Ferguson Stout
Louise Taylor
Alicia Torres
David Wilhoit

Ex-officio Members:

Geoffrey Chatas, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, U-M
David Gier, Dean, School of Music, Theatre & Dance, U-M
Laurie McCauley, Provost, U-M
Santa J. Ono, President, U-M

Representatives to the Board:

Mary Anne Beltzman, UMS Ambassadors
Kathy Goldberg, UMS Sustaining Directors
Norman G. Herbert, UMS Sustaining Directors
Beth McNally, UMS Ambassadors
Tim Petersen, UMS Campaign Council

Ambassadors

If you are passionate about the arts and would like to connect deeply with UMS, Ambassadors may be a great match for you.

Over 35 members of the UMS Ambassadors work to increase awareness of and participation in UMS programs through assisting UMS staff with projects and special events, ushering at UMS school-day performances, hosting unique community events, helping to creating partnerships with various U-M and community groups, and providing support to UMS in countless other ways. UMS Ambassadors are the champions of UMS’s community engagement mission.

Ambassador Executive Committee
Mary Anne Beltzman, Co-Chair
Beth McNally, Co-Chair
Lisa Armstrong, Secretary/Treasurer
Jordan Harrison, Volunteer Coordinator
Kirsten Williams, School Day Performance Chair
Astrid Beck, Membership Co-Chair
Jaye Kain, Membership Co-Chair
Janet Torno, Social Coordinator

Ambassador General Membership
Lisa Armstrong
Oliver Baldner
Arlene Barnes
Astrid Beck
Susan Beel
Todd Beel
Mary Anne Beltzman
Elaine Bennett
Francine Bomar
Andrea Ciske
Mike Dergis
Wenli Frisch
Joan Grissing
Jordan Harrison
Jaye Kain
Cathy King
Jean Kluge
Leah Korth
Susan Krueger
Michael Lee
Vivienne Lee
Daria Massimilla
Beth McNally
Barb Mulay
Athena Papageorgiou
Janet Popper
Anne Preston
Sue Rebner
Pat Rideout
Jill Ross
Ellen Sapper
Andrew Schneider
Elena Snyder
Janet Torno
Brian Watson
Kirsten Williams

Sustaining Directors

Norman G. Herbert, Co-Chair
Prudence Rosenthal, Co-Chair

Wadad Abed
Michael C. Allemang
Kathleen Benton
Maurice S. Binkow
Dan Braga
Sarah Calderini
David Canter
Mark Clague
Martha Darling
Julia Donovan Darlow
Monique Deschaine
David Featherman
Barbara Fleischman
Stephen Forrest
Maxine J. Frankel
Patricia M. Garcia
Beverley B. Geltner
Christopher Genteel
Anne Glendon
Katherine Goldberg
Richard Gutow
Walter L. Harrison
Debbie S. Herbert
Carl W. Herstein
David Herzig
Peter N. Heydon
Joel Howell
Timothy B. Johnson
Thomas C. Kinnear
Marvin Krislov
Earl Lewis
Robert C. Macek
Joetta Mial
Donald Morelock
Agnes Moy-Sarns
Jan Barney Newman
Roger Newton
Len Niehoff
Gilbert S. Omenn
Joe E. O’Neal
Stephen Palms
David Parsigian
Philip Power
Douglas Rothwell
Sharon Rothwell
Judy Dow Rumelhart
Maya Savarino
Ann Schriber
Ed Schulak
John J.H. Schwarz
Erik H. Serr
Ellie Serras
Joseph A. Sesi
George I. Shirley
Knut Simonsen
Cheryl Soper
Peter Sparling
James C. Stanley
Nancy Stanley
Victor J. Strecher
Karen Jones Stutz
Edward D. Surovell
Susan B. Ullrich
Eileen Lappin Weiser

 

Matthew VanBesien
Matthew VanBesien
President

Contact Info

734-647-1174
mvanb@umich.edu

Matthew VanBesien has served as the president of the University Musical Society since 2017, becoming only the seventh president in UMS’s 144-year history. Before his role in Michigan, Matthew served as Executive Director and then President of the New York Philharmonic from 2012-2017. He served as Managing Director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from 2010-2012, following positions at the Houston Symphony as Executive Director/CEO, and General Manager, from 2002-2009.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. VanBesien earned a Bachelor of Music degree in French horn performance from Indiana University and was the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Manhattan School of Music. He serves as the Secretary and Treasurer on the Board of the International Society for the Performing Arts, and as an Executive Committee member of the University of Michigan’s Presidential Arts Initiative.

Carmen Rodriguez
Carmen Rodriguez
Vice President, Finance and Administration

Contact Info

734-936-1459
carmenj@umich.edu

Jessica Adamczyk
Senior Executive Assistant to the President, and Manager, Board and U-M Relations.

Contact Info

734-647-1172
jadamcz@umich.edu

About Jessica

Joined UMS in 2017

Favorite UMS Performance: Nederlands Dans Theater

Salina Naranjo
Senior Accountant

Contact Info

734-615-6591
snaranjo@umich.edu

About Salina

Joined UMS in 2021
Favorite UMS Performance: Fiddler on the Roof

While I’m relatively new to UMS, I am so thrilled to be a part of this team! I have a passion for music and the arts and I can hardly wait for the coming season!

Amy Valade
Amy Valade
Accounting Clerk

Contact Info

734-647-1177
avalade@umich.edu

John Peckham
Director of Administration & Information Systems

Contact Info

734-764-8443
johnp@umich.edu

Scott Baker
Business Systems Analyst

Contact Info

734-615-9579
bakscott@umich.edu

Anné Renforth
Anné Renforth
Director of Patron Services

Contact Info

734-647-1168
arenfo@umich.edu

About Anné

Joined UMS in 2014

Favorite past performance: Accordion Summit in November 2014

Nina Renella
Front-of-House Assistant Manager

Contact Info

734-615-9398
nrenella@umich.edu

About Renella

Joined UMS in 2018 as a student, 2021 as a full-time staff member

Favorite UMS Performance: Teac Damsa in November 2019

Nina started as a student worker in the ticket office in 2018 and became a full-time staff member as the Front of House Coordinator in 2021 and has the privilege to work with UMS’s volunteer ushers at UMS’s performances!

Bridget Kojima
Bridget Kojima
Patron Services Assistant Manager

Contact Info

734-615-0581
blkojima@umich.edu

About Bridget

Joined UMS in 2013 as a student in the Ticket Office, 2019 as a full-time staff member

Favorite UMS Performance: Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain in 2013

Bridget joined UMS as a student while getting a degree in Performing Arts Management from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and returned as a full-time staff member in 2019.

Rochelle Clark
Rochelle Clark
Patron Services Associate

Contact Info

734-647-4010
rpcla@umich.edu

Corrinne Hamilton
Corrinne Hamilton
Group Sales and Promotions Associate

Contact Info

734-763-3100
corrinha@umich.edu

Nathan Rodriquez
Nathan Rodriquez
Patron Services Assistant

Contact Info

734-764-2538
clnathan@umich.edu

Kimberly Masters
Patron Services Assistant

Contact Info

734-764-2538
kimbem@umich.edu

Ryan Davis
Vice President and Chief Development Officer

Contact Info

734-647-0105
ryanedav@umich.edu

About Ryan

Joined UMS in 2019

Favorite UMS Performance: Vivaldi Recomposed and Swan Lake back to back

Susan Bozell Craig
Director of Development

Contact Info

734-647-1176
sbozell@umich.edu

Margaret “Marnie” Reid
Associate Director of Development, Major Gifts and Planned Giving

Contact Info

734-647-1178
marnreid@umich.edu

About Marnie

Joined UMS in 2003

Favorite UMS Performance: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Marnie grew up in Chicago and went to the College of Wooster in Ohio before moving to Ann Arbor in the fall of 1990. After 8 years at the Ann Arbor News, Marnie began her career in development at the University of Michigan. UMS is only the third unit Marnie has worked for in her almost 25-year career at Michigan. In Chicago, Marnie grew up on or near the stage and UMS is a perfect fit for her love of the arts, education, and the community.

Rachelle Michelon
Associate Director of Development, Annual Giving

Contact Info

734-647-1175
ralesko@umich.edu

About Rachelle

Joined UMS in 2007

Favorite UMS Performance: The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, National Theatre of Scotland

Rachelle is an Ann Arbor native and University of Michigan alumna. She began working at UMS as a temp in the Development Office right out of college and has now been at UMS for 15 years. As a student at UofM, she was a member of the Michigan Marching Band and she continues to fuel her love of the arts by playing trumpet in the Ann Arbor Concert Band, attending the Ann Arbor Summer Festival (run by her husband Mike Michelon) and looks forward to bringing their son Louis to UMS performances in the near future!

Lisa Michiko Murray
Associate Director of Development, Foundation & Government Relations

Contact Info

734-615-6592
lmmurray@umich.edu

About Lisa

Joined UMS in 1997

Favorite UMS Performance: Einstein on the Beach

Will Smith
Director of Major Gifts & Special Projects

Contact Info

734-647-8009
wmlsmith@umich.edu

About Will

Joined UMS in 2019

Favorite UMS Performance: Fiddler on the Roof

Will is a member of the UMS Development team. A native of Ann Arbor, he and his wife, Megann, are raising their two children here. An alum of Eastern Michigan University and Ann Arbor Huron High School, Will continues to serve as the Camp Director for the Huron High School annual marching band camp held each August at Interlochen. Will enjoys the outdoors, camping, vacations, cooking, and time with family and friends.

Cayenne Harris
Cayenne Harris
Vice President, Learning & Engagement

Contact Info

734-764-6179
cayenneh@umich.edu

About Cayenne

Joined UMS in 2020

Favorite UMS Performance: SW!NG OUT – Caleb Teicher

Cayenne Harris serves as Vice President of Education and Community Engagement at UMS, leading programming for faculty and students, K-12, community, and audience initiatives. Cayenne began at UMS in February 2020 after 8 years as Vice President of Lyric Unlimited, the education/community engagement arm of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and 12 years in ascending roles at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. A French horn player, Cayenne received music degrees in performance from San Francisco State University and Yale University. She was twice named one of NewCity Magazine’s 50 Outstanding Leaders of Chicago’s Theater, Dance, Opera, and Comedy Culture, has served as a speaker at numerous professional conferences on a range of topics, and is an active volunteer.

Terri Park
Associate Director of Learning & Engagement

Contact Info

734-615-0122
tepark@umich.edu

Justine Sedky
Justine Sedky
Community and Audience Programs Manager

Contact Info

734-764-8489
jsedky@umich.edu

About Justine

Joined UMS in 2018

Favorite UMS Performance: Ali Chahrour’s Layl (Night)

Maddy Wildman
University Programs Manager

Contact Info

734-764-3903
mwildman@umich.edu

About Maddy

Joined UMS in 2019

Favorite UMS Performance: Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of American Popular Music: 1960’s-1980’s

Maddy Wildman is your friendly neighborhood trans lesbian. (there’s at least one in every neighborhood, like dandelions, or stray cats, or Applebee’s)

Throughout her short life, she has been nurtured by an incredible artistic community, challenging her to become more joyful, humble, vulnerable, and kind. She is forever indebted to all the friends that love her, and each day she strives to pay it forward in her art, her work, and her smile.

Maddy is also a bassoonist, composer, UMS University Programs Manager, virgo, cocktail enthusiast, amateur poet, molasses cookie expert, perhaps overly eager gardener, obsessed with a specific set of indie video games, bird lover, and proud cat mom.

She plays bassoon with Front Porch, slapslap, BRIGE, and other groups. 

Maddy is honored to work with UMS, with fond memories of performances ever since her first semester at U-M. She was born in Wyoming, raised in Spokane, Washington, and graduated from the University of Michigan

Sara Billmann
Vice President, Marketing and Communications

Contact Info

734-763-0611
sarabill@umich.edu

About Sara

Joined UMS in 1988-93, and then again in 1996

Favorite UMS Performance: Too many to count! But the ones that always rise to the top are: Jessye Norman singing Strauss’s Four Last Songs, Celibidache conducting Munich Phil in Bruckner, Mariss Jansons conducting Shostakovich 7, Benjamin Grosvenor recital last year, Complicite’s The Elephant Vanishes, Nederlands Dans Theatre, Ballet Prelkocaj Snow White… and so many more!

Sara joined UMS in 1988 while a student at U-M, where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in English after a short-lived stint as an oboe performance major. Five years later, she moved to California, where she completed an MBA at Stanford with a focus on public management and worked for San Francisco Opera as a Financial Analyst.

Sara returned to Ann Arbor in 1996 to head up UMS’s Marketing & Communications department and now serves as Vice President, Marketing & Communications. She also teaches a class on DIY Marketing & Social Media at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

Lilian Varner
Marketing & Media Relations Manager

Contact Info

734-647-4020
lilymich@umich.edu

Miranda Tolsma
Miranda Tolsma
Digital Marketing Coordinator

Contact Info

734-615-4284
mtolsma@umich.edu

Eric Woodhams
Eric Woodhams
Director of Digital Media

Contact Info

734-615-6590
ewoodham@umich.edu

About Eric

Joined UMS in 2018

Favorite UMS Performance: Max Richter’s Vivaldi Recomposed with Daniel Hope and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra (November 2019)

Eric Woodhams has led transformative digital projects for performing arts organizations, including the Aspen Music Festival and School, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, and UMS. Eric graduated from Indiana University with degrees in music and arts administration before fusing his passions for the arts, technology, and marketing into his career. When not attending concerts at UMS or in Detroit, Eric loves introducing visitors to the beauty of the Motor City, working out with Peloton, and spending time with his rescue dog, Achilles.

 

Mark Jacobson
Vice President, Programming and Production

Contact Info

734-764-9906
mjaco@umich.edu

About Mark

Joined UMS in 1998

Favorite UMS Performance: Falling Up and Getting Down season-opening community celebration at Ann Arbor Skatepark in 2016

Alex Gay
Production Director

Contact Info

734-615-4285
alextgay@umich.edu

Mary Roeder
Associate Director of Programming

Contact Info

734-615-4077
mbroeder@umich.edu

About Mary

Joined UMS in 2006 as an intern, 2007 as a full-time staff member

Favorite UMS Performance: Igor and Moreno, Idiot-Syncrasy; National Theatre of Scotland, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, Ryoki Ikeda, Superposition, and like 10 more things

Anne Grove
Anne Grove
Artist Services Manager

Contact Info

734-764-9187
aegrove@umich.edu

Kaylin Stinson
Kaylin Stinson
Assistant Manager, Programming Artist Liaison

Contact Info

stinsonk@umich.edu

Scott Hanoian
Scott Hanoian
UMS Choral Union Music Director and Conductor

Contact Info

scottph@umich.edu

About Scott

Scott Hanoian is the music director and conductor of the UMS Choral Union where he conducts and prepares the Grammy Award-winning chorus in performances with the world’s finest orchestras and conductors. Choruses prepared by Mr. Hanoian have sung under the batons of Leonard Slatkin, Iván Fischer, Osmo Vänskä, Peter Oundjian, Fabien Gabel, and Arie Lipsky.

Mr. Hanoian is active as an organist, accompanist, continuo artist, conductor, choral adjudicator, and guest clinician. He is the director of music and organist at Christ Church Grosse Pointe, where he directs the church’s four choirs and oversees the yearly concert series. Mr. Hanoian has served on the faculty of Wayne State University and Oakland University and was the artistic director and conductor of the Oakland Choral Society from 2013–15.

As an organist and conductor, Mr. Hanoian has performed concerts throughout the US and has led choirs on trips to Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, France, and Spain. In the summer of 2017, Mr. Hanoian led the Christ Church Schola during their weeklong residency at Westminster Abbey.

Before moving to Grosse Pointe, Mr. Hanoian was the assistant organist and assistant director of music at Washington National Cathedral where he played the organ for many services including the funerals for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford. Mr. Hanoian has recorded the complete organ works of Johannes Brahms for the JAV label.

Learn more at scotthanoian.com

Kathy Operhall
Kathleen Operhall
Chorus Manager

Contact Info

kio@umich.edu

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